


Two Worlds, One Family

by syphrilfox



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Tarzan (1999)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eating bugs, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syphrilfox/pseuds/syphrilfox
Summary: “Reach for me, Terra! Grab my hand!”He blindly reaches his hand out, waving it around in hopes of catching his father’s hand.“I’m scared!”“It’s okay, Terra! Don’t be scared! Daddy’s here! I’m right here!”
Relationships: Eraqus & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Tarzan (Disney) & Terra (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> against my better judgement, heres another fucking wip and another damn terra fic. i literally just posted a chapter for Erratophobia earlier today and thought "huh im a lil burnt out, ill work more on this tomorrow" and then immediately got blindsided by the terra tarzan au that i kept thinking about.
> 
> this is loosely inspired by CharlieCo's Tarzan Terra sketches and animatics because of fucking course it is, i love their art so much. and if you havent seen that shit, ill link it in the notes at the end because really, theyre just so good

* * *

He’d been so good. He’d done everything his father had told him to do. So why was this happening? Why was this happening to him?

He’d almost gotten up on time that day. He’d woken to the sounds of birds outside his window, snuggled soundly in his bed as he was. He was supposed to get up then, but he’d been so warm and comfortable that he couldn’t have brought himself to move. His father had knocked on his door soon after, ever the man to be on time, and when he hadn’t answered, his father had come in. He didn’t stand a chance against his father’s warm good mornings, his forehead kisses and his playful hair ruffling. He laughed when his father bothered him, and laughed again when his blankets were torn off of him and calloused hands descended upon his middle, tickling him nearly to death. He’d been instructed to get dressed and get breakfast before his father kissed him once more on his forehead and left.

And he’d done as he had been told, even though he really didn’t want to.

He’d gotten up, made his bed so that it would be ready for him that night when they returned. He’d opened his closet and put on the stuffy outfit his father had given him to wear the night before. Even though it itched under his arms and down his sides, he still put it on, and he still ran all the way down to the kitchen and dining hall, scratching all the while.

Pancakes and bacon waited for him, along with a big glass of milk. His father fussed over him, fixing the belt he couldn’t put on properly himself and straightening his hair. He was given another forehead kiss before he was told to eat up.

“It’s going to be a long day today, so make sure you eat every bite.”

And he’d done as he’d been told, scarfing down his pancakes and nearly swallowing his bacon whole. Barely a lick of maple syrup remained after he finished, and he was given a pat on the head and the instructions to hurry and brush his teeth before they left. And so he followed instructions, racing out of the dining hall and back up the stairs. He’d entered his bathroom, glopped a generous amount of toothpaste onto his toothbrush, and he’d brushed and brushed and brushed until his foamy spit was pink. With a great big drink out of the faucet for the road, he ran all the way back down the stairs, jumping two at a time while his father gently scolded him for rushing and carelessness.

“Now, make sure you put your armor on in the order I taught you, all right?”

And he had done his very best, sliding his little hand and arm into his pauldron, vambrace, and gauntlet. Better yet, his father had been so proud of him, praising him for getting it right this time and putting it on all by himself. He had been so happy to hear his father so proud of him, to see that same, loving smile spread across his face. His father had asked him if he was ready, and he had nodded eagerly. His father activated his armor for him, something he still hadn’t gotten the hang of yet, and once he was clad in it from head to toe, he followed his father out of the castle and into the warm morning light. His father had activated his own armor and summoned his special Glider.

“Now then, what do we do when we’re on the Glider?”

“Hold on tight, and don’t let go!”

“And?”

“If… If I think I’m slipping, let you know right away!”

“That’s my boy!”

He’d nearly burst with pride and glee, and he had climbed onto the Glider behind his father so eagerly and nicely. He had wrapped his little arms around his father’s waist as tight as he could, gripping onto the two outstretched faulds like a lifeline. He didn’t even squeal when the Glider roared to life, nor did he cry when they flew up, up, up into the sky, higher than they’ve ever flown before. He had held on so tightly, held on with all of his might.

They’d flown through the stars, something he’d never seen before in all his life. It had been so pretty, so amazing to fly like the old Masters did, to fly like his father did. He’d been good and patient, no matter how boring the flight became, and he only squirmed a little bit when they descended down onto another planet, onto a world totally different from the one he had known for his whole life.

It had been so magical, so _exciting_ to be somewhere entirely _new_. He had wanted to run off, to explore this world of forests and dusk. He had wanted so bad to explore the tower that stretched so high into the sky. But he didn’t. He didn’t even ask, instead holding onto his father’s hand when prompted, after his armor had been deactivated for him. He didn’t complain about not being able to explore. He didn’t complain about having to climb a billion steps. He didn’t even complain that he was bored or thirsty or tired. Not once did he ask for a break or to slow down. He’d been so good, even when he was told to wait in a room with three weird people with wings, who fluttered and chattered and poked and prodded him with measuring tapes. Even when they finished and while his father still sat in a meeting he waited, good and patient and quiet.

He had been the perfect son, waiting and patient and never complaining. Even when they had to go all the way back down the trillion stairs, even when he had to hold onto his father’s hand until they were far enough away from the tower. He didn’t run off to explore, didn’t whine that his feet hurt or that he was tired or that he was bored out of his mind. He had let his father reactivate his armor, had climbed back onto his Glider, had held on as tight as possible.

So why was this happening to him? He had done everything right this morning. He’d behaved himself, had done what he was told, even when he didn’t want to.

“Hold onto me Terra! Don’t let go!”

He can’t respond. He’s scared. _Really_ scared. He’s never seen this sort of thing before, not even in the books in the castle library. He couldn’t look, didn’t _want_ to look. He could see glimpses of it past his armor, past his father’s armor as he tried to press his face into his back. White robes, inky black smoke, creatures with blades and horns and glowing eyes. It all reminds him of his nightmares, of a place he doesn’t know being torn to pieces by a force he doesn’t know or understand, people he doesn’t know falling and never getting up, of monsters he can never remember by morning but cries in fear over all the same. He doesn’t like this. He doesn’t _want_ this. He wants to go home, he wants to sit on his father’s lap in the big cozy chair in the library, and listen to him tell him stories until he falls asleep in his arms.

Why is this happening to him?

Something grabs a hold of his leg and pulls. He screams. He can’t help it. He’s scared.

“Don’t let go of me! It’s going to be okay!”

Whatever holding his leg vanishes, and he squirms closer, trying to hide against his father’s back. He doesn’t know what his father is doing, doesn’t know what’s happening around them, or why it’s happening. He clings to his father’s armor as tight as he can, clenching his thighs around the Glider as hard as he can, presses his feet against the stirrups as hard as he can. He doesn’t want to be here anymore. He wants to go home. He wants to go home and pretend none of this ever happened, wants to pretend that the whole day never happened.

All around him monsters scream. They sound just like the monsters from his nightmares, just like the creatures that would push people over and hurt them, that would make people not get back up again. He tries to hold on tighter, tries to squeeze his eyes shut and pretend it’s all just a bad dream. He’ll start crying in his sleep, he’s sure of it. And when he starts crying, his father comes running, all soft words and warm hugs and firm reassurances.

Something rocks the Glider. Something rocks the Glider again.

Something hits him in the back of the head. It hurts a lot, and he blinks.

“ _Terra!_ ”

He opens his eyes. He realizes he’s floating, arms and legs spread, drifting away from his father’s voice on his back. All around him monsters hiss and scream and swarm, glowing eyes raking over him, claws scratching at his armor.

“Daddy!”

“I’m coming, Terra!”

He tries to flail, tries punching and kicking and twisting. His little fists and feet hit something, but it doesn’t seem like it’s doing anything. He tries to swim through space, towards the sound of his father’s voice.

“Reach for me, Terra! Grab my hand!”

He blindly reaches his hand out, waving it around in hopes of catching his father’s hand.

“I’m scared!”

“Don’t be scared!”

For a brief moment, he catches sight of his father, silver and white armor a stark contrast against the black, writhing bodies. His big hand reaches out, the familiar silver palm stretching towards him. He reaches back, desperate to grab hold of him.

“It’s okay, Terra! Don’t be scared! Daddy’s here! I’m right here!”

He tries to swim harder, tries to swim towards his father. His father tries to swim back, tries to reach for him.

White suddenly fills his vision, a monster with no body, only robes floats in front of him. He can hear his father yell, hear him scream in pain and stubbornness.

“Daddy! Daddy where are you! Daddy!”

The white monster grabs hold of him with big black claws and squeezes.

“I’m coming Terra! I promise!”

He squirms and writhes in the monster’s grip, kicking and flailing. The monster holds on tight. From where he’s held, he can just barely make out the sight of his father, swinging his blade and casting magic. The monsters don’t let up. They keep coming, and coming, and coming. They surround his father, tug at his arms and legs and head, try to bite him and hit him and hurt him. He barely notices he’s in tears, barely notices the warmth of them sliding down his face and neck.

Something big hits his father.

His father goes limp. Just like the people who fell, the people in his nightmares that never got back up. He screams and kicks and cries. The monster howls and throws him. His head hits something hard, crashing against the back of the helmet protecting his head.

And the last he sees before everything fades out is silver and white, eclipsed by the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ill admit, i kinda maybe sorta almost cried writing this chapter. i dunno what happened but baby terra being a wiggly puppy over his papa eraqus smiling at him and telling him hes doing great is always gonna be something that hits me in a soft spot. and for the record, terra is like 6 here. im not great at writing kids but like, hes baby and i did my best lmao.
> 
> if you haven't seen CharlieCo's animatic and sketches, ill link them here for yall to open up in a new tab vvv
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RdnHfvx9K0&ab_channel=CharlieCo
> 
> https://chachacharlieco.tumblr.com/post/172304845029/i-know-this-is-getting-out-of-hand-but-i-enjoy
> 
> https://chachacharlieco.tumblr.com/post/172443406614/more-kh-tarzan-sketches-and-please-someone-stop
> 
> im sure theres more but these are the most important ones. also its only loosely based off these, so dont be expecting the things you see here. this is *my* rendition of a tarzan au and im gonna go as feral as my lil heart desires lmao
> 
> anyways i hope you enjoyed this first chapter here, because im sure ill be bouncing between this fic and my other terra fic for a lil while longer. at least until i lose kh steam until khiv comes out in like 2082 lmao


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly, a head of brown hair peeks up and out of the roots. His mother gasps again, and holds him even tighter. Tarzan can’t help but watch as the hairless ape watches them, blue eyes red ringed and fear writ all over his face.
> 
> “Tarzan,” her mother whispers. “Did you see any others?”
> 
> “Huh? Others?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> works been killin me, mostly cause ive been working a lot, but also because its the christmas season and people really scramble to get christmas treats, toys, and collars and things for their pets. but hey, it gave me time to read and edit, so hopefully there arent any typos!

* * *

“Hold still, Tarzan,” she laughs softly. “Or I won’t be able to get all these knots and twigs out before your nest-time.”

“You shoulda seen it, mum! We were surrounded on all sides by monkeys, and they were all steaming mad, yelling and shouting and throwing nuts at us!”

“And why were you bothering the golden monkeys?”

He stops for a moment, stops to think, before his excitement starts to give way into sheepish embarrassment.

“Oh... Uh… Well y’see, I might have accidentally stepped on one of their tails…”

His mother hums a soft note as she tugs a stick free from his hair.

“And did you apologize to them?”

“Well I tried to! But then Terk told them to watch where they were standing, and then the monkeys got mad, and then Terk got mad…”

“I see,” she says. “Well then, perhaps you shouldn’t be causing trouble for the golden monkeys in the first place.”

“Aw, mum, I wasn’t trying to cause trouble! Honest!”

He whines when her fingers catch on a thick knot in his hair, and she murmurs a soft apology as she carefully teases the knot out.

“Then what were you doing?”

“I was just watching them. I wanted to try and learn how they climb trees so fast, so I wouldn’t be the last up the logs when we’re moving.”

Another knot comes out of his hair before a big palm settles on the top of his head and ruffles his hair. He can’t help but giggle and push at her palm.

“Well, why don’t you ask Terk, or the other children your age for help?”

He wilts a little bit at the thought of asking the others for help, and shakes his head, earning a soft “Hold still” from his mother once more.

“The others never understand… They don’t get it. And Terk isn’t really the best at teaching things.”

“I see. Well, how about I teach you how to climb?”

“But you’ve already shown me how to climb. I wanna be *better* at climbing!”

He winces and whines again as another big knot is teased out of his hair. He can feel his mother run her fingers through his hair, making a satisfied hum when her fingers glide through it without catching on a single knot.

“There, all done. Now you’re the handsome little ape I know you are.”

Before he knows it, his mother has scooped him up with her foot and brings him in for a hug. He’s quick to wrap his arms around her shoulders, relishing in the warmth of her arms and the softness of her fur, despite the slight upset still sitting in his stomach.

“Doesn’t that feel better?”

Tarzan plants his chin against one of her shoulders, absentmindedly gripping and letting go of the fur on the back of her shoulders.

“I’ll feel better when I can climb faster than Kerchak…”

She heaves a great sigh, one that shifts him in her grip, and one big hand plants itself into his hair again. This time it doesn’t muss up his hair, and instead it scratches softly and soothingly at his scalp.

“You’ll get better, Tarzan. You’re still young. You just need a little more time, is all.”

“That’s what you always say…” he mumbles into her fur. His mother laughs, the soft and hiccupy sound he’s known since birth.

“And you’ll see in time that I’m right. There’s nothing wrong with learning a little bit slower than the others.”

Tarzan heaves a great sigh of his own and tries his best to bury himself in his mother’s fur. “I know…”

His mother holds him for a little bit longer, scratching gently at his scalp as she slowly rocks him back and forth. He lingers, happy enough to receive her comfort until she finally unwinds her arms from him and lowers him down to the ground.

“What do you say you and I join the others for some dinner before we settle down for the night, hm?”

In response, his stomach growls. His mother simply laughs and gets to her feet, gently nudging his side with the back of her hand.

“That sounds like a yes to me. Come along.”

Tarzan doesn’t need to be told twice. With his stomach empty and fruit growing on the trees nearby, he gets up and follows after her, doing his best to keep up with her long, slow strides. They weren’t sitting very far away from the rest of the family, and after a few moments, they enter into the cluster of other gorillas seated in little groups, each of them surrounding a few hands of bananas. His mother leads him closer to the groups where Terk and the others his age sit with their mothers, and as she sits down, Tarzan hesitantly joins her. Terk catches his eye from across their little circle, and he grins at her. She smiles back, showing off the tuft of golden monkey fur still stuck in her teeth. Tarzan can’t help the giggle that escapes him, and apparently neither can Terk.

“And what are the two of you laughing about?”

“Nothing, ma.”

“Nothing, Auntie Tana.”

Terk’s mother looks between the two of them suspiciously before her eyes turn to Tarzan’s mother, and the two of them giggle again. He reaches out with one foot and pulls a banana off of the bunch, using one hand and his foot to open it. Terk does the same before jamming almost the entire banana in her mouth. Not one to be outdone, Tarzan does the same, bending the banana skin open and stuffing as much of the banana into his mouth as possible. Terk sticks her tongue out at him, coated in half chewn banana, and Tarzan does the same right back at her. A glob of half chewn banana falls from his tongue, and Terk laughs. He can’t help but laugh too, mouth shut and trying not to choke on what banana he has left in his mouth. When he’s finally able to swallow, he scoops up his fallen banana mush and eats it before going in for another.

Most of their time spent eating is spent in comfortable silence. His mother and Auntie Tana talk to one another every so often, exchanging things they’ve seen and heard that day, while he and Terk focus on their meal. Growing apes needed to eat a lot, after all, and if he was going to be the best ape Kerchak’s ever seen, then he’s going to need to eat a lot.

Around them, the forest is quiet, with only birds in the canopy singing their songs and the sounds of the other apes in their family talking to one another as they eat and groom one another. Gentle winds rustle the leaves, and sticks crunch underneath the shifting weight of gorillas. Tarzan only looks up from his meal when his mother does.

“What’re you looking at, mum?”

She doesn’t reply, her eyes scanning the edges of the small clearing the family’s sat themselves in for the night.

“Did you see the Zugor, Auntie Kala?”

Again, she doesn’t respond, her eyes still scanning the edges of their family. Something feels uneasy in his gut, and Tarzan grabs hold of some of his mother’s fur and tugs it gently. She turns and looks, but not at him. Instead, she looks over at Kerchak. When Tarzan peers around her to look, Kerchak is standing, head swivelling and sniffing at the air hard. The birds above them throw out alarm calls, and the sudden thunder of rustling undergrowth and snapping branches fills the air.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Tarzan’s been scooped up into his mother’s arm and carried off, his mother running for the edges of the clearing and climbing the first tree that could carry her weight. A roar explodes from somewhere beneath them, and the rest of the apes all begin to howl, heavy hands thumping against wood. The suddenness of it all has his heart racing in his chest. He tries to turn in his mother’s grasp, tries to look down at the ground to see what’s happening beneath them. Gripping onto his mother’s arm and shoulder, he can just barely twist himself around just enough to see what’s going on.

Beneath them is Kerchak, standing at the base of a tree, lips peeled back and fangs exposed. Something black and orange streaks at him, hissing and snarling and claws flashing in the dappled light.

Sabor.

Kerchak is fast enough to slip to the right of Sabor, just outside of his claws, and Tarzan watches wide-eyed as Kerchak grabs hold of the leopard’s fur and swings. He tosses the leopard away, howling as he does so. The big leopard hits the ground, and is on his paws almost before Tarzan can blink. Kerchak charges the leopard, mouth open in a howl and teeth bared. Sabor is quick, quicker than Tarzan can follow, but not quick enough for Kerchak. He swings his arms around like he’s either going to bludgeon Sabor with his fists or grab the leopard and throw him again. Fur and fangs fly, and all the while Tarzan watches, eyes wide and clinging to his mother.

As fast as the fight had started, the fight ends with Kerchak slamming Sabor into the ground with one arm and striking the big leopard in the gut with the other. Claws lash out and tear through Kerchak’s arm, and Sabor is gone, disappearing into the trees with a snarl and hiss. Kerchak howls after him, as do the rest of the family, his mother included. Though his heart races and his skin feels clammy, Tarzan joins in, baring his teeth and snarling as best he can at Sabor’s exit.

“Is everyone all right?” Kerchak calls from where he stands on the forest floor. All around him, his family responds, one by one with murmured voices. His mother, still holding him close, begins to descend from the tree limb she’d raced to, and Tarzan holds on nice and tight as she works her way to the ground. Only when she has her arm and her legs on the earth does she set him down and hurry over to Kerchak. The rest of the family follows suit, descending from the trees and approaching Kerchak. Tarzan begins to do the same, lagging along behind the others.

Until he hears a whimper.

He turns and looks behind him. Nothing out of the ordinary is there, and Sabor has already fled. There are no other monkeys, and the others of his family have either moved away from the trees or have gathered around Kerchak. He stares and listens, straining his ears for anything that might be out of the ordinary. Over the sound of his mother fussing over Kerchak’s injuries and the rest of his family complimenting and congratulating him, Tarzan hears a sniffle.

It comes from the base of a tree, where roots have snarled up and out of the ground and twisted around one another. He hesitates, unsure of what it could be. There are no birds singing, not anymore, and though the wind still blows through the leaves, they’ve never made a noise like that before. And they’ve never sniffled either. Uncertain, Tarzan looks over his shoulder at the rest of his family. His mother is tending to Kerchak’s arm, while the rest of them begin to gather themselves up. All the other apes his age have barely paid attention, and are chattering about how cool and strong Kerchak is. No one is looking at him. No one is looking for him.

He barely realizes he’s moving towards the base of the tree until he’s finally on top of some of the roots. They’re thick things, rough and knobbled and covered in moss. Beneath them, it almost looks like he could fit under the tree itself. It’s hard to see past the covering of roots, but where Tarzan can peek through, there seems to be enough room to hide. He explores the roots, climbing over the bigger, thicker ones and peeking through holes where the roots are thinner. He sees nothing of interest, nothing out of the ordinary.

He passes by a hole just big enough for him to squeeze his shoulders through.

He hears another whimper.

Hesitantly, Tarzan glances from the roots and back towards his family. They’ve begun to move, slowly beginning to lumber off and away from the clearing. They’ve barely left. It’s enough to convince him to look back at the roots. Carefully, he lowers himself down and peers in through the hole in the roots leading under the tree. It’s far darker under the tree than it is under the cover of the canopies, but it doesn’t take long for his eyes to adjust enough to see something. Something is curled tight in the farthest part of the roots, shaking and shivering. There’s something slick covering its back, and when Tarzan tries to sniff, it smells a lot like blood.

“Tarzan!”

He jumps, and hits his head against some of the roots that make up the entrance to the hole. The curled up lump jumps, too, and it uncurls just enough for wide blue eyes to turn and settle on him. And Tarzan freezes up, all pain in the back of his head gone.

The creature that sits curled in the deepest part of the snarled roots has brown hair, short and well taken care of. It’s covered in something that Tarzan doesn’t recognize, but beneath it is skin. Hairless skin, exposing its face, hands, and back where blood wells up. The creature hiding here, save for the stuff covering it, looks just like him.

A hairless ape.

A large, warm hand wraps around his middle and lifts, pulling him away from the roots and onto the ground nearby.

“Tarzan, we need to leave.” his mother tells him. He pushes her hand away and climbs back up the roots, poking his head into the opening again.

The hairless ape hasn’t moved, big, tear stricken eyes focused on him as it shudders and sniffles and hides. He can’t look away, can’t begin to imagine what this means for him. He isn’t the only hairless ape. There are others that look like him. He isn’t weird. He isn’t a freak. He isn’t a hairless wonder.

There are others like him.

“Tarzan, honey, what are you looking at?”

“He looks just like me.” is all he can muster.

A big hand wraps around his stomach again, but this time his mother only shifts him, enough so that she too can peer into the darkness beneath the roots. The creature shifts and curls up tighter, hairless arms curling around its head and neck and torso like it’s trying to shield itself. Beside him, his mother gasps. She rears back suddenly, dragging Tarzan away from the roots with her. He squirms in her grip, desperate to return back to the roots and look in some more. He’s never seen anything like him before, not in his family, and not in any of the families they used to pass when he was still small enough to cling to his mother’s back. Still, she holds him tight to her chest, even as he squirms. When she doesn’t move, he whines softly at her, but she only shushes him.

Slowly, a head of brown hair peeks up and out of the roots. His mother gasps again, and holds him even tighter. Tarzan can’t help but watch as the hairless ape watches them, blue eyes red ringed and fear writ all over his face.

“Tarzan,” her mother whispers. “Did you see any others?”

“Huh? Others?”

His mother doesn’t reply, not when he squirms a little bit more, and not when he looks back up at her. She seems frozen, and uncertain. Her eyes are wide and watching the roots, and when Tarzan looks back, he watches as the other hairless ape begins to climb out from underneath the roots. He can’t be older than Tarzan himself, judging by the way his body looks smaller. The stuff that covers him hangs off of his body limply, shredded and torn in ways Tarzan’s never seen. He stands on two legs, and he can’t help but tilt his head in confusion. Weren’t all apes supposed to walk on all fours?

For a painfully long moment, the other hairless ape and his mother doesn’t move. Tarzan looks between the two of them, equally confused and in awe at the sight of someone just like him. And then the other hairless ape moves, slowly but steadily climbing down the roots. His mother doesn’t move, just holds him close and watches. It’s only when the other hairless ape is standing on the ground before them does his mother move. One big, warm arm draws a small body close, and before Tarzan can register what’s happening, the other hairless ape is crying into his mother’s chest, shaking and shuddering and bleeding down his back. His mother tries to hush him, holding him close and making quiet, soothing sounds. And Tarzan can’t help but join in, wiggling in his mother’s arms to be closer to the other, small ape. He snuggles close to the smaller ape, wrapping an arm of his own around the other’s back. He’s never seen another like him, never thought he would ever be able to interact with something like him. The other ape cuddles close, both to him and his mother, and Tarzan feels his face splitting with a grin.

He isn’t the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kerchak gonna be mad when he realizes kala's adopted yet another human baby. like, mega mad. but you know how mommas are. they protect their kids until the end, and it seems like this lil ruffian boy is already a part of her family LMAO.
> 
> have fun with your new brother, tarzan.
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beside him, Kala sighs softly. He doesn’t look up at her, instead focusing on poking at wandering termites with the little stick, watching as some of them bite at it and cling to the end of it. They crunch between his teeth when he eats them, and a shudder passes through his spine at the sensation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god theres so much of this au i want to cover, but theres just so much of it. im sorry if it seems fast, but theres like.... almost no content between terra not knowing how to speak to the gorillas and him finally knowing enough to properly talk to them. not to mention that tarzan is packed full of things i want terra to witness too, so like, gotta go fast i guess

* * *

He couldn’t be sure how long he’s been here. Time passes so quickly here, mornings turning to nights faster than he thought they would. He knows at the very least a week or so has passed, but he’d lost count somewhere after the tenth day, and now as the sun rises and sets, time seems like it’s all blurring together. It’s been long enough that his hair is starting to grow a little longer, but not long enough for his nightmares to end.

The boy and the ape that found him treat him well, treat him like family. They protect him, hold him, keep him safe and warm and fed. They had tended to his wound, the one the big spotted cat had given him when he’d first woken up here, and the ape had defended him from the biggest of her kind, huffing and snorting and hooting at the biggest of the apes while he hammered at his chest and roared. The boy had stuck by his side, tried coaxing him to play and to see the joy in the little things in the jungles while they moved around. And at night, the two of them held him close, petting down his back and offering soft sounds as he sobbed into their arms, nightmares of his father floating limp through space and a forgotten world with forgotten people and forgotten monsters who hurt people until they never got back up. He never knew what their soft sounds had meant deep in the middle of the night when it all started. At the start of everything, the sounds all of the apes had made were just sounds. Now, it’s been long enough for him to begin learning meaning behind the sounds, and enough for those meanings and sounds to become words.

Speaking is still difficult, and he struggles to pronounce words and sounds like the others do, but understanding what they say is becoming easier and easier. The boy- Tarzan is what he says his name is- helps him by pointing out things and telling him the words for them, repeating them until he gets the sounds just right. The ape- Kala, Tarzan’s mother- helps teach him how to move and run and climb like she does, like all of the other apes do. With slow words and a gentle voice, she teaches him the names of good and bad fruits, how to walk on his knuckles and toes, how to climb trees. It’s hard, really hard, and there’s so much to learn all at once, but with Kala and Tarzan’s help, it all becomes easier. Even eating bugs becomes easier, though the feeling of little legs and tiny eyes and squishy insides wrapped in crunchy outsides is still enough to send a shudder down his spine. At least they don’t taste awful.

Not everything gets easier as he begins to learn and understand the things around him. The other apes his age make fun of him, hanging from the tree branches and swinging about, chanting “Rykordo, Rykordo, look at the Rykordo” every time he passes them. Kala had told him the meaning of the name they called him, telling him that they call him Crooked Dance because of the way he walks on two legs instead of four. It’s unfair, he thinks. It’s not his fault he was raised to walk on two legs while the rest of them walk on four. He tries his best to learn, tries his best to walk like Tarzan and Kala and the others, but sometimes it hurts, and his hands and legs tire. It doesn’t get easier when the other apes his age refuse to play with him, leaving him behind in favour of playing amongst themselves, and the days Tarzan and his friend- Terkina, is her name- run off to play with them are the hardest of them all. None of the other adults seem interested in him, and a few of them seem to be scared of him. The biggest ape- Kerchak, Kala told him- was always a little bit testy, and he was told not to bother him, to stay out of the great ape’s way. None of the other apes were interested in him, and so he spent his time at Kala’s side, copying the way she moved and the way she spoke and the way she existed within the group. Sometimes he wonders if copying her, if trying to blend more into the family, would help him be accepted. Most days, he tries not to think about it. It’s just easier to sit at her side right now, and hunt for termites in the mound before them.

“Rhulan, why don’t you join Tarzan and Terkina?”

Rhulan, Brown Ruff, is the name Kala calls him. It’s not his name, not the name his father had given him, but none of them knew how to pronounce Terra. Rhulan isn’t a terrible name either, he thinks. Terra scuffs one of his hands against the side of the termite mound, watching as the little bugs crawl their way around the mound in paths he could never hope to learn.

“I don’t wanna bother them.”

“Well, why don’t you try and make friends with some of the others your age?”

He shakes his head, picking at a small stick he had been given to use as a tool. Termites could bite hard, after all, and it was better they bit a little stick than his fingers.

“They don’t like me. I don’t wanna bother them, either.”

Beside him, Kala sighs softly. He doesn’t look up at her, instead focusing on poking at wandering termites with the little stick, watching as some of them bite at it and cling to the end of it. They crunch between his teeth when he eats them, and a shudder passes through his spine at the sensation.

“Rhulan, dear. You can’t keep isolating yourself from the rest of the family.”

“I know,” Terra mumbles, working his little jaw in hopes of dislodging a tiny leg caught between his cheek and his teeth. “But I don’t wanna bother them.”

For a brief moment, Kala doesn’t say anything, and he takes the time to poke at a few more termites, crunching on them and shuddering at the texture. A big palm rests on his back and rubs his spine in small, soothing circles. The roughness of her hand tugs slightly against the slowly fading scabs on his back, but it’s not uncomfortable.

“I’m sure Tarzan and Terkina wouldn’t mind if you joined them, Rhulan. You know Tarzan loves you.”

“I know…”

Kala doesn’t press him any more than that, instead favouring her task of catching termites and soothing a big hand down his back. He copies her to the best of his abilities, sticking the little stick in his hands into one of the holes of the termite mound and wiggling it around. It isn’t very hard to catch termites, and despite their strange texture, they’re relatively filling. Bit by bit, Terra catches his own termites and eats them, doing his best to ignore the little legs and eyes and wings and shells. Though quiet, and sometimes boring, things are just easier when he’s sitting at Kala’s side, copying her actions and learning by doing them. Kerchak can’t get mad at him if he stays at her side and follows her rules. The other apes his age can’t make fun of him if he never wanders off. Terkina and Tarzan can play about as much as they wanted without him dragging them down if he stays with the family. And though he yearns to be back with his father, to be back spending his days in the castle, things are quieter and easier this way.

“We didn’t do it!”

He nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of one of the apes his age screams, charging past them in a mad dash.

“We didn’t do it! They’re the ones who did it!”

Terra watches as the two apes run past, scattering into the trees around them. Beneath him, the ground seems to rumble, and when Kala gasps, he looks up at her. He watches for a heartbeat as she stares in the direction the two apes had come from, and he turns to look in the same direction. The rumbling of the earth beneath them becomes harsher, turns more into a violent shake, and it’s only when the trumpet of an elephant reaches his ears that his quiet confusion turns to panic.

Terra drops his stick as Kala shouts his name, and when she scoops him up in her arms, he grabs hold of the fur on his back tight, clinging to her for dear life as she runs as fast as she can out of the way of the elephants crashing through the trees and bushes. Everything around them explodes into chaos, the other apes scrambling to get out of the way as elephants deafen the jungle around them with their trumpeting. From his perch over Kala’s shoulder, he can see it all unfold. He watches as everyone makes a break for it, as everyone scatters. Kerchak is somewhere in the middle of it all, doing something he can barely see past the stomping legs of elephants. A baby and his mother struggle near the edges of the stampede, where elephants are destroying termite mounds in their flight.

Terra barely realizes he’s used Kala’s shoulder as a springboard until she calls his name, and by the time he actually registers what he’s doing, he’s already at the edge of the stampede, scooping the baby up out of a knot in some tree roots and running back towards Kala with him in his arms. He can hear the infant’s mother chasing along behind him, and it’s only when they’ve reached Kala that he hands the infant back to his mother. Kala is quick to hug him close to her, just as the other is quick to hug her baby to her chest. It’s hard to hear over the stampede, but he manages to catch her thanks as she passes them, heading just a little farther into the trees.

And just as quickly as the stampede had started, the elephants disappear deeper into the jungle, trumpetting and charging deeper and deeper until their calls are quiet.

“Rhulan, are you hurt?”

A big hand swipes at his cheeks just below his eyes, and he only realizes now that the danger has passed that he’s crying, his body trembling and his heart racing in his chest. He shakes his head, unsure if he could even muster up his voice, and he settles into Kala’s embrace, letting the warmth of her fur soothe his terror. It’s not the same as his father’s hugs, not the same as his warm embrace and prickly beard and callused hands. But it’s similar, and it’s enough to keep him from sobbing, enough to ease his shaking.

“Are you all right?”

Kerchak.

As nice as Kala’s hugs are, Terra knows better than to get in Kerchak’s way. He squirms out of Kala’s grip and hides behind her, crouching as low down on his knuckles and toes as he can. He’d seen Tarzan do it before, and Terk and some of the others of the family do it, too. He watches as Kala nods and glances back at him, before she truly answers.

“We’re fine, Kerchak.”

Kerchak nods, and then looks down at him. He tries to make himself smaller, tries to crouch down lower. Kerchak stares at him for a moment, eyes hard and neutral. The great ape just barely nods at him, a muttered word of praise passing his lips. Then he’s off, turning his attention to the place where the elephants had come from. When Kerchak is a good distance away, he finally straightens from his crouch, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Terkina? Terkina! Where are you!”

Terkina’s mother shoots past them, hurrying to the edges of the forest where the stampede had trampled mounds and toppled trees, stopping every so often to cup a hand to her mouth and calling out for her. Beside him, Kala stiffens, and when he looks up, there’s panic on her face.

“Tarzan? Tarzan!”

Almost immediately Kala is taking off after Terkina’s mother, calling into the jungle as she realizes that Tarzan had been gone for most of the afternoon. Desperate to hide behind her figure, he runs after her on all fours, doing his best to run fast enough to keep up with her long strides. Both she and Terkina’s mother pass by Kerchak, who is striding slowly and confidently the way the elephants had come, and Terra does his very best to slink past him, running as low to the ground as he could manage and giving the great ape a wide berth. He tries not to focus on the feeling of Kerchak staring at his back, and instead focuses on keeping up with Kala. Fallen branches and angry termites make it harder to keep his balance, but with most of the greenery trampled, it’s easy enough to follow them both up the small hill, where elephant tracks mar the ground.

“Tarzan!”

“Terkina!”

The two mothers crest the hill, and when he catches up to them at the top, Terra can see where the elephants must have come from. Muddy footprints litter the shore of a pond at the bottom of the hill, where the water still sloshes and the mud still fresh. Near the shore is an elephant, a baby maybe. And beside the elephant are Terkina and Tarzan, sitting in the mud and sopping wet. Both Kala and Terkina’s mother charge down the hill towards them, and the while both Tarzan and Terkina get up and begin a slow shuffle towards them, the baby elephant moves out of the way and off to the side. A snort behind him kicks him into gear, and before Kerchak can brush him out of the way or step around him, he bolts down the side of the hill, staggering and scrabbling on all fours all the way to the bottom, close to where the baby elephant has moved.

“What. _Happened._ ”

Kerchak’s voice rings loud and clear down the hill, and instinctively, Terra ducks and hides behind the baby elephant. Someone begins to speak, but he barely pays it any mind as the baby elephant shuffles and backs up nervously. Terra does the same- having seen what an elephant can do in a panic already, he shuffles a little further away from the elephant, wary of his feet. Terra still uses the bulk of him to hide from Kerchak’s sight.

“Who are you?”

“Wh-Who are you?”

The baby elephant shuffles again, wringing his trunk around itself.

“My name’s Tantor.”

“I’m…”

And Terra trails off. The apes can’t pronounce his name. Tarzan, though a boy just like him, couldn’t pronounce his name right either. The apes, when they spoke to him on the rare occasion, always addressed him by the name Kala gave him. Kerchak had given him a word of praise under the name that Kala had given him. All of them could say Rhulan, and none of them could say Terra. He looks up at the baby elephant, looks into his nervous and curious eyes. The baby elephant looks so… Friendly. So earnest and kind. He doesn’t seem afraid of him, at least not as afraid as others are, and though Terra is scared of him too, there’s something about the baby elephant that just seems… Nice. He thinks, just for a moment, that maybe he could tell him his real name, could tell him to call him Terra, just like his father had done. But if he’s anything like the others of the family, he wouldn’t be able to pronounce Terra, either. Terra thinks for just a moment about his father. He thinks of his time spent at the castle, playing and learning and living with his father. He thinks of all the times his father had comforted him after his nightmares, of all the times he had been by his side while thunder and lightning roared outside his window. He thinks of all the times he had followed his father around, learning the lay of the castle, watching him as he practiced with a weapon Terra didn’t fully understand. And he thinks of his father, floating limp in space, of Kala and Tarzan, and the time that’s passed since he first woke up on this world. Terra finally makes his decision.

“My name’s Rhulan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the record, rykordo is like... technically a real word in the original tarzan book. a friend of mine sent me a dictionary of all the known words in the ape language from the tarzan book. if youre like me and youve never actually read the original book, tarzan means white skin, and according to the dictionary, rykordo means crooked dance. and i went through so many possible ape names to give terra in this fic, every thing from crooked dance to mighty heart to golden mountain. rhulan is the name i settled on, and it is NOT a real word in the ape language dictionary. straight up made that shit up. rhulan, meaning brown ruff. cause hey. if kala is gonna call her kid "white boy" then i felt it was only fitting that she looked at terra's weird anime hair and went "lmao ill call you brown hair"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You boys are just the same as the rest of us. Kerchak… He just doesn’t see that yet.”
> 
> Kala had spoken to them softly, Tarzan in one arm, and Rhulan in the other. Rhulan knew that Kerchak was grumpy and testy, knew that out of all the family, he would be the one who would never like them. He was content with that, as long as he stayed out of Kerchak’s way and as long as Kerchak didn’t hurt him. Beside him, Tarzan had pushed a little bit away from him and Kala, and when Rhulan looked over, Tarzan had a fire shining in his eyes.
> 
> “Well, then I’ll make him see. Rhulan and I’ll be the best apes ever!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally managed to cough this one up. is this fic moving fast? maybe. is there a reason? not that i can immediately think of. but there will be more than just the tarzan movie lmao.

* * *

That night, after Kerchak’s rage had subsided, Rhulan had accompanied Kala down to the pond the elephants had come stampeding out of. Tarzan had been there, splashing and thrashing and covering every inch of his bare skin in mud. Rhulan had hung back while Kala had softly chided him, while she cleaned him up and fought off his worries. He watched her soothe Tarzan’s fears of never fitting in, watched as she eased his anxieties of never having a place in the family. And though Rhulan knew he himself would never fit in, with his life before now having raised him somewhere from outside, something about listening to it all had unsettled and upset him. He knew he too, like Tarzan, was different. He knew there was little chance they’d ever be truly accepted by the other apes. And the thought was enough to make Rhulan miss his life before all of this again. His father, the castle, the snow, the food, everything. He’d never be able to go back to that. And though he loves Kala and Tarzan for all they’ve done to make him feel welcome, he’ll always truly miss his father.

Kala, of course, must have known he had been upset as well, and when she hugged Tarzan close to her, she moved herself over to him and dragged him into the hug as well. At first he was startled, but as Tarzan and Kala wrapped their arms around him, Rhulan couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face as he hugged them back. They may never be the same as his father and the castle, but they still loved him like family, and he loved them too.

“You boys are just the same as the rest of us. Kerchak… He just doesn’t see that yet.”

Kala had spoken to them softly, Tarzan in one arm, and Rhulan in the other. Rhulan knew that Kerchak was grumpy and testy, knew that out of all the family, he would be the one who would never like them. He was content with that, as long as he stayed out of Kerchak’s way and as long as Kerchak didn’t hurt him. Beside him, Tarzan had pushed a little bit away from him and Kala, and when Rhulan looked over, Tarzan had a fire shining in his eyes.

“Well, then I’ll make him see. Rhulan and I’ll be the best apes ever!”

The rumbling laugh that had come out of Kala then, the way it shook against Rhulan’s body out through her chest, it had reminded him of his father. A small reminder that, even though Rhulan would never see him again, he wouldn’t be without the little things that had made his father who he was.

All important thought had stopped when Kala began to tickle not only Tarzan but himself, and after a little bit of quality time spent with his brother and Kala, it was their nest time. Though their nest time certainly hadn’t stopped Tarzan and Rhulan chattering to one another under their breath, curled up safe and warm beside Kala, planning out pieces of ideas to become the greatest apes ever.

And just like everything else, things slowly became easier. That day after the stampede of elephants saw both Rhulan and Tarzan venturing out with one another, exploring the jungle together and watching its inhabitants. Though Tarzan likely never knew that the two of them weren’t apes at all, Rhulan knew all too well that the things the rest of the family did were things that they would either struggle to accomplish, or they were things they would never be able to do ever. But there weren’t just apes to learn from in the jungles.

Chameleons were good at traversing narrow branches, using their tail and hands and feet for movement. Though many branches fell, and many times did they land in the way of others, there was something to be learned in testing the weight of branches before climbing them and leaping onto them.

Colobus monkeys were good at swinging through the treetops on vines. One after another, they would hop between vines, swinging between branches and leaping onto the next vine when the length of one ran out. Learning that one proved to be incredibly difficult, with certain vines being too brittle or thin for them to put their full weight of them, Rhulan and Tarzan fell more times than a couple of kids should ever have in their entire lives. And with a particular mishap involving a snake and several crocodiles, vine swinging was the hardest of all of them. But with enough time, mishaps, and many days spent chasing around the colobus monkeys, it eventually became second nature. Kala had been more than happy to hear that their reckless swinging days were over, though she still worried any time the two of them would climb a tree in the morning and swing away on the vines to play.

Rhinos, though rare in the dense jungles, were great at scratching marks into trees. The first time they had tried to watch them, Rhulan and Tarzan had to run full beans away from a rampaging rhino. Turns out, they’re not the friendliest. But after a few more attempts, some more covert than others, Tarzan had an interesting idea. Rhulan had joined him, banging rocks together until smaller rocks with sharper edges came out of bigger rocks. They, like the rhino’s horns, could scratch through tough bark and into the meat of the wood itself. Tarzan used some of the thinner vines to attach his to a long, thin stick, while Rhulan took a bunch of the bigger, sharp stones and tied them to a shorter, thicker stick.

The construction was hard, and parts of it wouldn’t work, no matter how hard he tried, but eventually, Rhulan managed to tie the pieces together somehow. Looking at it, it reminded him of the weapon his father used to use, the one Rhulan never quite understood. And while it probably wouldn’t be great to swing around if there’s a lot of trees close together, he could at least poke things with the sharp stone on the top. Practicing with them proved even harder than building them was. Rhulan’s was so heavy that every time he finished swinging it around his arms ached, and Tarzan’s was so light that any time he threw it, the thing would go flying so much farther than intended. Another mishap proved to the both of them that, while awesome to have something sharp and dangerous, these weapons were sharp and dangerous. Kerchak certainly didn’t seem pleased to have a bouquet of fruit strike the tree behind his head, nor did he seem thrilled to have a fruit-paste covered branch thrown at his feet. But everything grows easier with time, and these were no exception.

Terk, as it turned out, was a great wrestling partner. Though the same age as Tarzan, and what must be a year or two older than Rhulan, Terk is exceptionally strong, so much so that no matter how hard both he and Tarzan try, Terk would always come out on top. Tantor, who had come along that day, proved as well that size never mattered that much when it came to strength, being bested by a baboon baby. Though he too was a great wrestling partner, though he would occasionally wind up sitting on someone. That, of course, never became easier, though it was definitely fun. Learning how to try and fight against Terk, and of course Tantor when he was feeling particularly brave, was the most fun out of everything. Rhulan would always lose, as would Tarzan, but by the end of the day the four of them would always wind up laughing, no matter how many bruises they were each covered in.

Tarzan learned of other ways to make himself better, faster, stronger, and Rhulan followed him every step of the way. No matter what it was, Rhulan would always join Tarzan in his attempts. From climbing a cliff soaked by the raging waterfall, to sliding across vines and branches, to taunting pythons in the jungle so that they would strike, Tarzan and Rhulan did it all. There were many times one of them fell and broke an arm, or when one of them would run head first into a tree trunk and knock the wind out of them, or when one of them would get bitten by a python. Many times, those mishaps were terrifying, but more often than not, it only served to make them more ambitious. They had to be stronger, had to be faster, had to think quicker. They couldn’t be the best apes they could be if they weren’t. And with it all came competitions. Who could knock over a termite mound first, who could swing on vines the fastest, who could climb to the canopy first, who could poke the snake and wind it’s coils around a tree before it could attack them first.

And through it all, Rhulan slowly but surely forgets his life before now. As he grows older, his body gets bigger, his hair gets longer, he gets faster and stronger and smarter. Tarzan is the same, never passing up an opportunity to beat Rhulan at something, and Rhulan never passing up the opportunity to beat Tarzan at something. Everything becomes so easy, becomes second nature, something that he remembers so instinctually, that when Tarzan mentions it one day, Rhulan realizes just how much of his old life he had forgotten in the process.

“Hey Rhulan. Where did you come from?”

“Hey, yeah, where _did_ you come from?” Terk pipes up.

From his spot on Tantor’s ever growing back, Rhulan struggles to think. He barely remembers it now, what it was like living somewhere that wasn’t the jungle. Time passes so quickly here, so much so that every day Rhulan lives, he forgets to count. He’s grown so much since he first got here, he can barely remember what it was like to be little. His clothes from when he first arrived no longer fit him, and are better used to tie his sharp stones to his weapon. The metal he had worn on his arm, that had proved to be too tight too quickly was better used for sharpening his weapon, and Rhulan couldn’t remember what exactly it was, or what purpose it served. A face pops up into his mind, but it’s hazy and fuzzy, blurred from time and thoughts of so many other things that held more importance in the moment since he got here. He tries to think, tries to remember the place he came from, but all he can remember is stone, snow, and black hair.

“Yo, earth to Lannie, you still in there?”

“Huh?”

When Rhulan sits up on Tantor’s back, he catches sight of Terk sitting in the lower branches of a tree, staring at him expectantly. Tarzan is right beside her, laying on his stomach on a particularly low and thick limb of the tree.

“Oy vey. Where did you come from, ya knucklehead?”

“Oh… I, uh-”

“You were born in another family, weren’t you?” Tarzan asks him, lying one cheek against his crossed arms on the tree limb. “If you were born into this one, you would have had a mother, or at least a father here with us, right?”

Tarzan looks at him with fascination and curiosity in his eyes, and Rhulan can’t help the little seed of guilt that starts to spread in his stomach.

“I actually don’t really remember it all that much.”

“How can you not know where you come from?” Terk huffs, and it’s now that Tantor butts in.

“You know, it’s not too uncommon for someone to forget most of their early life as they grow up. Depending on how young Rhulan was when he joined your family, it isn’t a stretch to think that he’s forgotten about what had come before.”

“Bah,” Terk huffs, flicking a hand dismissively. “Rhulan wasn’t _that_ young when he joined the family.” Terk looks at him a little more fiercely than she had been before. “Come on, Lannie, you must remember _something_ of where you came from.”

Rhulan scratches at the back of his head, trying desperately to think of more than what he remembers from his time before the jungle. “Well, I…”

Tarzan shuffles a little closer, a little more forwards on the tree limb, and flashes Rhulan a look he’s seen work on Terk before. “Please, Rhulan? Anything at all?”

And the look works on him, too. Rhulan deflates a little bit, and again scratches at the back of his neck a little awkwardly.

“You see… I only really remember a little bit. I remember tall smooth stone, taller and smoother than you see around here, and I… I think the stone was white?” He scrunches his nose up for a moment, doing his best to remember what it was like. “There was snow sometimes, too. It would cover everything in sight, and it was really deep.”

“Snow? You sure you didn’t come from the mountains?”

Tarzan perks up a little at Terk’s words, a smile spreading across his face.

“There’s another family that shares some of the woods with us. They live higher up on the mountains nearby. Maybe your mother and father are there!”

The words strike something inside Rhulan, images of silver metal in the void of black, black little bodies and claws and teeth scrabbling at the metal. It fills him with a feeling of grief, of loss so intense that it takes him a moment to fight through the lump in his throat that threatens to choke him.

“I… I don’t have a mother, and my father… My father died, protecting me from monsters.”

“HAH! Monsters?” Terk snorts and chortles from her perch. “You still believe in the Zugor?”

“No, no it’s not the Zugor,” Rhulan says, desperately trying to recall what they looked like. “They were small and had black fur, and they had claws and little antennae like ants, and their eyes glowed yellow! There were hundreds of them!”

“Man oh man, you sure it wasn’t just a nightmare, Lannie? I’ve never heard of any ape dreaming up giant killer ants.”

“But I…” And Rhulan falters, suddenly very unsure of himself. Did he just dream that all up? Was it truly just a nightmare he had as a child and confused with reality? His nightmares had stopped eventually, ceasing all together sometime during his rough and tumble crash course to become one of the jungle’s greatest apes. The nightmares of little black bodies, of little claws and yellow eyes, it all seems too far away, like he was seeing things through some sort of fuzzy lens. He scratches at the back of his neck once more, pulling a bug out from the knots in his hair.

“Maybe it was just a nightmare…”

“I’ll say.” Terk sniffs and leans back against the trunk of the tree, folding her arms behind her head. “Sounds like you had one too many bad fruits before your nest time as a kid.”

“I guess so.”

“Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Tantor says, reaching his trunk up to pat at his legs. “Why, I’ve had my fair share of food coma nightmares myself. I once dreamt I was a Grey Parrot, high in the canopies of the forest, being chased down by a huge eagle! Why, I was so terrified I-”

“Tantor, you’ve told us this one a hundred times already, we get it.”

“Huh? I have?”

From his perch, Tarzan nods, a sympathetic look on his face. “The eagle turns into a leopard and catches you.”

“It’s very scary, I’ll have you know!”

As Tarzan, Terk, and Tantor begin to bicker amongst one another, Rhulan remains silent, his thoughts still on his dreams. The dreams had felt so real at the time, like he actually was living them. But Terk and Tarzan were right, in a way. Creatures like the ones he was describing to them could have just been giant black ants seen through the haze of one too many bad fruits. But it had all felt so real, the feel of claws grasping at him, the feeling of floating without anything to bring him back down to earth, the feeling of watching something brilliant and silver fade away. It had all felt so real, but… But must have just been a nightmare. Things like those don’t really exist.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you ask any of my friends, they can and will tell you about how much i overthought things with regards to terra/rhulan. i could not for the life of me if i should jump into calling terra rhulan cold turkey, if i should just call him terra in exposition and call him rhulan in dialogue, or if i should slowly switch from calling him terra into calling him rhulan. my friends told me i was over thinking things, which i tried to deny, and then shortly after admitted that yeah, i was over thinking things. so terra is rhulan from now on, and i cant help but vibrate in my seat at the prospect of writing more for him. for now though i have to switch back over to erratophobia and write the next chapter for that. i hope y'all enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> ill admit, i kinda maybe sorta almost cried writing this chapter. i dunno what happened but baby terra being a wiggly puppy over his papa eraqus smiling at him and telling him hes doing great is always gonna be something that hits me in a soft spot. and for the record, terra is like 6 here. im not great at writing kids but like, hes baby and i did my best lmao.
> 
> if you haven't seen CharlieCo's animatic and sketches, ill link them here for yall to open up in a new tab vvv
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RdnHfvx9K0&ab_channel=CharlieCo
> 
> https://chachacharlieco.tumblr.com/post/172304845029/i-know-this-is-getting-out-of-hand-but-i-enjoy
> 
> https://chachacharlieco.tumblr.com/post/172443406614/more-kh-tarzan-sketches-and-please-someone-stop
> 
> im sure theres more but these are the most important ones. also its only loosely based off these, so dont be expecting the things you see here. this is *my* rendition of a tarzan au and im gonna go as feral as my lil heart desires lmao
> 
> anyways i hope you enjoyed this first chapter here, because im sure ill be bouncing between this fic and my other terra fic for a lil while longer. at least until i lose kh steam until khiv comes out in like 2082 lmao


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